Well, good morning. Happy spring morning to everybody out there on the Facebook and YouTube world, and anybody else who might be listening later. Right now, we're enjoying a pretty warm spring morning, and I can hear the birds outside my window, which is the first time I've been able to hear that, actually, in the new house. So that's very exciting. Hope you're all doing well. Changing up the schedule a little bit, and we're having a devotional today, Tuesday, to make up for what we lost last week when we couldn't have one. And tomorrow though, and Wednesday at 9 a.m., you'll still join us for a normal time. And we will have our penultimate devotional in this series, looking at the seven sayings of Jesus and the cross. So today, number five, the one that we should have looked at yesterday, Jesus says that he is thirsting. And he puts expression to that pang of thirst as he is moments away from his death on the cross. We read about it in John 19. So I'm going to read John 19, two verses for us. It's just two words from Jesus, but to take in the context, we'll read two verses, 28 and 29. John 19, 28 through 29, after this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill scripture, I thirst. A jar full of sour wine stood there. So they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and they held it to his mouth. Now note, the first thing I want us to notice is that John tells us that what Jesus says in this moment, I thirst, he says with intention, doesn't just kind of come out of him. He says it with a purpose and that intention, that purpose is to fulfill scripture. There's a little if you're reading along, it's a parenthetical statement. They put it in parentheses. Jesus said parentheses to fulfill scripture. I thirst. And this really is a reminder to us that everything that has taken place in the life of Christ, not just this one line, but his entire life in ministry is the fulfillment of Old Testament scripture. His entire life was foretold by the prophets. And so, you know, Jews who knew their scriptures well should have been able to see this in his life. They should have been able to see in his life the substance of Old Testament shadows. He was the substance of what was foreshadowed. But it should have been most clearly perceived in his betrayal arrest and crucifixion. That's where really all of the various texts culminate. And it becomes very clear that Jesus is the Messiah that the Old Testament spoke of. Let me just list a couple things that we read of in the Old Testament scriptures. that that lend to that understanding that Jesus is that the one that they predicted in his in his death and in his dying. Psalm 41 verse 9 said the Messiah would be betrayed by would be betrayed by a close friend. So Judas there predicted. Isaiah 53 verse 12 says that the servant of the Lord would be counted as a criminal. Psalm 22 and verse 16 said that the the A servant of the Lord, the coming one, would have his hands and his feet pierced, predicting death by crucifixion. Verse 18 of that same chapter, Psalm 22, says that people would cast lots for his clothes, which is what happened shortly after his death. Psalm 34 and verse 20 says that not a single one of his bones would be broken. John's gospel makes a point to say that they're about to break his legs and they stop. Again, this is to fulfill scripture. And one other point of prediction was that a rich man would give over his grave for the suffering servant of the Lord. Isaiah 53 verse nine, that's fulfilled in Joseph of Arimathea. Now to that list, we can add this This episode that we're considering this morning that Jesus would thirst at the cross predicted again in Psalm 22 verses 14 through 15. We read this. I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax and is melted within my breast. My strength is dried up like a pot shirt. My tongue sticks to my jaws. Now, in one sense, it's quite unremarkable, isn't it, that a dying man would be thirsty. He's losing, especially a dying man who's dying through crucifixion, he's losing a critical amount of fluid. And so what else would we expect at this moment? But we need to say that It is remarkable because it's a reminder that this dying man is dying for a purpose. that this dying man's death is no accident. That's what we want to say. It's worth noting because this dying man is not dying for or is not dying as an accident. It was part of God's plan all along. The Old Testament predictive scripture proved it. There's another reason it's remarkable, though, and it shows us that when Jesus dies for us, he dies as a human. That's really the most important thing that this text is revealing to us, that. That Jesus dies as a full human, God doesn't thirst. In fact, angels don't even thirst. Right. Thirst is entirely an aspect of having a body. So spiritual beings do not experience that phenomenon. And yet Jesus does here. And so we're learning that he's no he's not just a mere observer of the human condition. He is one who experiences the human condition entirely for our sakes. He is that high peace, high priest who sympathizes with our every weakness. And perhaps there's no better way to capture the frailty of the human condition or the limitation of our bodies than the need for water. Dying of thirst, it begins first with extreme pangs. then delirium sets in, and then there's the systematic shutdown of all the vital organs. It seems like just such a small thing, right? A few drops of water, but they hold life for us. And so as Christ was without that water in this moment, he felt death coming. And so Jesus gives expression to the fragility, the pain even of the human condition. So far from the cross, he has pardoned his enemies, Father, forgive them. He's welcomed his friends into paradise. Today, you will be with me. He's taking care of some family business. Woman, behold your son. He's cried out at the spiritual experience of being shunned by God. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? But now he says something about his own discomfort. It's the first time. It's the thing that you and I would have had on our minds and our lips first and then throughout the whole duration of our time is how uncomfortable we are and how much pain we're in. And yet it's just briefly mentioned here. But it means he's up there as one of us. And so the scriptures are fulfilled in that the Messiah would be fully man. There's one other thing I want to say that's significant about this episode. And it shows us how Jesus is human. He's human for us in order to be our sacrifice. This text points to to the role of Christ as our substitute and our sacrificial lamb even. The scriptures are fulfilled in that he would be substituted in our place. Notice what happens when Jesus says he's thirsty. This is where we learn that this is a sacrifice taking place. We're meant to pick up sacrificial themes here. Notice what happens. It says that there wasn't a glass of water. And so they did the best that they could, which was to Give him not satisfying water, but unfulfilling sour wine. That was also by the way to fulfill scripture. Psalm 69, 21 says, they gave me poison for food. And for my first thirst, they gave me sour wine to drink. Psalm 69 verse 21. But how did they give him the wine? They soak it in a sponge. And then they put that sponge on a hyssop branch and raise the hyssop branch to Jesus's lips. Did that recall anything in your minds about scripture? Does it sound familiar? Because there's another place in the Bible where hyssop branch is raised and it's at Passover. It's what the Israelites would use to paint the blood on the doorpost, the blood of the sacrificial and substitutionary lamb. It's what they would use to paint on the doorpost, which would secure their salvation. And here the branch is lifted to the lamb of God, who's hanging upon the frame of the cross of Calvary, securing for all who put their faith in him a salvation, securing life for the ones who he came to die for. Remember what Psalm 22 says about what makes Jesus thirsty. I read it earlier. Let me read it one more time and we'll conclude with this. It says, I am poured out like water. It's not so much that he's bleeding and crying and sweating that makes him thirsty. It's that he is voluntarily given up his entire self. His soul has been poured out for you and me. That's why he thirsts. And the promise of the gospel is this, that if any of us thirst, then we come to him. Jesus says, if anyone thirsts, come to me and let him drink. And whoever believes in me shall never thirst. Christ knew the torture of thirst at the cross so that all our needs would be met and quenched and fully satisfied. It's a wonderful thing that we can reflect on and consider this Easter season. Conclude with a few words from Matthew Henry, a prayer of Matthew Henry's. which says this, Lord, I pray that we may thirst for you and long for you in this dry and thirsty land, that we may see your power and your glory, just as we have seen you in your sanctuary for your loving kindness is better than life and our souls will be satisfied and we will praise you with joyful lips. We put our trust in you, God, never let us be ashamed. Trust, truly, our souls wait on you, the source of our salvation. You alone are our rock and our salvation. In you, we have our expectation. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we remember the name of the Lord, our God. We will trust in your mercy forever and ever. We will wait on you. We have hoped in your word. Remember your word to your servants. Amen. Amen. Well, have a good rest of your day, and I hope that you'll be able to tune back in tomorrow at a regular time, 9 a.m., as we consider segment six in our online series here. Bye-bye.